Anal Warts - Treatment Could Make Removal Less Painful And Less Invasive
Anal Warts
June 28, 2001
2001 JUN 28 -
The study was presented June 6, 2001, at the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Meeting in San Diego, California.
Between one million and four million men and women in the United States have visible anogenital warts, and over half of all gay men carry the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes genital warts, in their anal canals. HPV is a common sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cervical and anal cancer. Treatment for anal warts often requires painful surgery or repeated visits to the doctor, and the warts recur in up to 50% of treated patients. The new treatment, however, eradicates or shrinks the warts, thereby making anal wart removal, if necessary, and a much less painful and invasive procedure.
"Treatment for anal warts is often a recurring nightmare for infected patients," says Goldstone. "Any treatment that can eradicate the warts, or markedly reduce their size, will represent a significant advance in HPV therapeutics."
Goldstone treated 14 patients with anal warts with a protein compound, which stimulates the immune system to attack the warts. Over a period of six months, the compound eradicated the warts in three of the patients. In 10 patients, the compound shrunk the warts by 70% to 95%.
An immune-based therapy may come with an added benefit, says Goldstone. "The fact that this is immune-based means it may have the potential to decrease recurrence rates of anal warts, which is very exciting. Further long-term follow-up is necessary to determine whether this is indeed the case."
Goldstone's findings prompted Stressgen Biotechnologies of Victoria, B.C., Canada, to open a Phase II clinical trial of the compound. This is currently under way, and results may be announced as early as the end of 2001. This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
Source: Obgyn.net
Anal Warts - Natural History of AIN (Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia)
Left untreated, anal cancer is fatal. If detected at an early stage, however, survival is excellent. Like cervical cancer, anal cancer is probably preventable.
Anal Warts - Cervical Cancer as a Model for Anal Cancer
Approaches to the study of the natural history of anal cancer and its precursors, as well as screening and treatment to prevent anal cancer, are modeled on those used for cervical cancer. In the cervix, CIN -- particularly CIN 3 (severe dysplasia) -- has been shown to be the lesion from which cervical cancer arises.[5] Unlike CIN 3 and AIN 3, CIN 1 and AIN 1 are not believed to be direct precursors to invasive cancer. However, our group at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has shown that AIN 1 does have the potential to progress to AIN 2 and AIN 3.[6,7]
